New claims surrounding Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3 suggest the game underwent a significant internal overhaul, shifting from a cross-generation release to a full next-gen exclusive in order to avoid technical limitations.
According to content creator SofianLeGEEK, development on the project began as early as 2020. He stated that the original version of the game was planned for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, but the need to support older hardware created graphical constraints. Developers ultimately chose to restart development from scratch to push the visuals and gameplay further.
“Because there was a massive delay and a new strategic choice was adopted,” Sofian explained. He claimed that early builds of Xenoverse 3 were only marginally more advanced than Xenoverse 2 and did not stand out compared to competing titles. As a result, the team allegedly decided to redo the project “from A to Z” to elevate the graphical fidelity and overall scope.
He added that the move to abandon PlayStation 4 support allowed the studio to pursue a deeper and more ambitious experience. “It would be a next-gen exclusive, with a gaming experience, from what I’ve been told, much more developed, with a more developed online mode, with a well-crafted story mode… because that’s what we are talking about: actually having a successful, well-deepened game, with tons of content.”
Sofian also claimed he had early knowledge of the project’s existence, pointing to a 2020 video in which he stated that a new Xenoverse title was in development. He described briefly interacting with members of the Xenoverse 2 development team and Dragon Ball FighterZ producer Tomoko Hiroki at the time, suggesting that internal discussions were already underway for the next entry.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3, reportedly developed under the codename Project Age 1000, is said to be in development at Dimps and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The title is expected to be a current-generation exclusive for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. Following an apparent leak via a YouTube playlist in February 2026, a formal reveal is scheduled for Dragon Ball Games Battle Hour in April 2026, with a projected global release in early 2027.
Bandai Namco has not officially commented on the reported development changes.
